Lawn sprinkler



Patented Mar. 14, 1933 PATENT OFFICE JOHN H. KEYS, or DAYTON, omo

LAWN SPRINKLER Application filed April 1,

This invention relates to rotary sprinklers for lawn and garden purposes, and more particularly to a rotary sprinkler of the jet propulsion type.

I Rotary sprinklers having radially dis- I circle of operation beyond the range of the propulsion jet, and which may be adjusted to various inclined positions to vary and regulate the field of operation. Such additional jet nozzles are also capable of being adjusted to inclined position in opposition to the propulsion jet arms whereby the reaction of the discharged streams from such nozzles will have a neutralizing or retarding affect upon the rotation of the distributor head under the influence of the jet arms, thereby enabling the sprinkler to be adjusted for most effective operation under various water pressures. The present construction is further provided with a protective cap for excluding sand and grit from the bearing of the rotary head,

and the device is further provided with a strainer element removably located in the supply conduit.

The object of the invention is to simplify '40 the structure as well as the means and mode of operation of rotary lawn and garden sprinklers whereby they will not only be cheapened in construction but will be more eflicientin use, positive in operation, uniform 5 in action, easily controlled and unlikely to get out of order.

A further object of the invention is to pro vide means for increasing the effective range of operation of such rotary sprinklers, and

to further provide means for regulating the 1929. Serial No. 351,510.

rate of rotation to accommodate the sprinrler to variations of water pressure and to control the'character and range of the dis- I charge stream. r

A further object of the invention is to pro vide fluid pressure control means for regulating the rate of rotation of such sprinkler.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved strainer means removably appjicable to the supply conduit of the sprin- A further object of the invention is to provide means for excluding sand and grit from the bearing of the rotary head.

WVith the above primary and other incidental objects in view, as will more fully appear in the specification, the invention consists of the features of construction, the parts and combinations thereof, and the mode of operation or their equivalents as hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawing wherein is shown the preferred but obviously not necessarily the only form of embodiment of the invention, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an assembled rotary lawn sprinkler in which the present invention has been embodied. I

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the rotary head and its mounting.

Fig. 3 is a. top plan view of the rotary head illustrating the relation of the propulsion jet arms'and the governing discharge nozzle.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the strainer member removed from the supply conduit.

Fig. 5 is a. side elevation of the stationary trunnion upon which the rotary head is mounted.

Like parts are indicated by similar char. acters of reference throughout the several 9 views.

The rotary sprinkler, forming the subject matter hereof, is adapted for lawn use in which case the rotary head is mounted upon a portable base, as shown in Fig. 1, andis also applicable to garden use and for spraying orchards and the like, in which case the rotary head is preferably elevated upon an upright supply column as illustrated in Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1, 1 is the portable base or support with which is connected a supply installation, shown in Fig. 2, is a' hollow' trunnion 5 having at its lower end an enlarg-ed internally screw threaded head for engagement with the stem 3- or column 4-. This head 6 of the hollow trunnion 5 is shouldered to form a step bearing for therotary head 7. The trunnion 5 extends entirely,

through the rotary head 7 and is provided .with lateral discharge openings 8 which reg- 'ister' with .an annular chamber 9 within the. .head 7 ,f with which 1n :turn the .propulslon jet arms and discharge nozzlescommunicate.

I They discharge openings 8 in thehollow trun- .;nion 5 have acapacitysomewhat greater. the

the bore of. suclu-trunnion,---and extend throughout the full heightyand preferably slightly beyond the limits of the. annular chamber 19 within .the distributor head 7. The construction 1s such that the water-(pres- ..--su-re, upwardly and downwardly within the head 7 isequalized and the head will rotatefreely with a:floating-.effectiupon its trun- ..nion. Thus the waterpressure-neither depresses the rotary head 7 strongly against theshoulder or step bearing-formed by the ahead: 6 .of.theatrunnion. .5, nor elevates the head ofl' of such bearing. .An anti-fricticn .collar or Washer 10 preferably; though not necessarily,-of German silver, is interposed betweenthe rotary head 7311(15 the shoulder or 1 step bearing of the trunnion. 1 head 7- may: be provided with any number of o propulsion jet arms. {In the drawing, but

The rotary ."two'ofsuch arms arewshown which extendin diametrically opposlte position :from 'the head 7 with their terminal ends bent slight- 1y rear-wardlywith reference to the direction of rotation of.the head. At their. innerends these. jet arms. llTCOIDIIlIlHlCEltQ with the chamber 9 interi'orly. of the head: 7 and r at their outer .ends: fareprovided 'with remow.

0- able perforated caps 12 through which jets of water under pressure. are discharged.

-The reaction of the dischargcdstreams exerts a propelling eifectu-ponthe head 7 causing it to rotate upon its trunnion 5. i Under high water pressure, this rate of rotation wing their range. .Inthe present .case, addit-becomesso greatthat such dischargedstreams are broken and difiused, materially reductional discharge nozzles '13 are provided.

These nozzles are unaligned or elbowshaped andare revolubly mounted in the head 7 as .shown by the dot-dash position in Fig. 3.

- further provided with removable perforated These nozzles also communicate with the watersupply chamber 9. Such nozzles 13 are caps similar to the caps 12 of the jet arms.

.the arms l1. charged streams fromoneset ofnozzles to under low pressure.

These jet nozzles 13 are preferably so positioned and the orifices of their caps are so proportioned that they will discharge their streams through a higher trajectory and to greater range than the propulsion jet arms 11. This range of operation may be varied by slightly turning the nozzles 13 about their connection with the head 7 to raise or lower the trajectory of the discharged streams. These discharge nozzles 13 are preferably directed reversely to the jet arms 11. That is to say, where the jet arms 11 discharge streams rearwardly with reference to the direction of rotation of the head 7 which is propelled thereby, the nozzles 13 preferably discharge in: a forwardlydirection.relative to the direction ofrotation. zThus-the reactive .influence of the streams disclrarged from'the nozzles 13 opposes the propelling influence of the jet streams discharged from. This opposition of the dis the influence of the dischargedstreams from the other nozzles exerts a retarding influence upon the rotation of the head 7 and.reduces .9 its speed to such extentthat the streams are notso' greatly broken up and. diffused, and consequently a larger area maybe covered.

By varying theinclinations of the nozzles 13 relative to the plane of rotation and thus varying the opposing effect of. the discharged streams, the speed: of rotation may beregulated. In the event of an. extremely .low water pressure, the direction of;inc1ination of the nozzles 13 maybe reversed, in which, case the influence of'the dischargedstreams will augment that of the streams discharged from the jet arms 11, and so increase the 'rotative tendency'of the distributor head Thecapability for adjustment of the noz zles 13is also of. great advantage and usefulness when the sprinkler'is set in close proXimityto a building, in which. case the field of operation. may be limited by depress mllo ing the inclination of the nozzles 13 so that the water will not be thrown upon orthrough the windows, or in other localities where such sprinkling. is undesirable. .It is, also quite 'feasible'to ,vary the :range of operation and...115

the action of the sprinkler by substituting" .forthe perforated terminal caps of the nozzles 13 and arms 11, other similar caps hav- 'ing orifices of different size.

. In some localities the water supply con-..120 tains sand or gravel. which may be carried through the supply conduit and find lodgementwithin the distributor head or in the outlet orifices from the nozzles or; jet arms.

Toaintercept such entrained sand or grit,., there is provided within the stem 3, or with in. the column 4t of the stationary installation, a strainer .member 15-.of elongated tapered or conical form and preferably,

though not necessarily, formed. fnom-wire..

gauze or screen cloth. About its larger end, the strainer cone 15 is provided with a collar or peripheral flange 16 which is engageable between the end of the stem 3 or column 4 and the interior of the head 6 of the trunnion 5, which forms a continuation of such supply conduit. Thus the strainer member 15 is removably clamped in position with its apex turned in a direction opposite to that of the flow of water through the conduit. Thus any sediment, sand, gravel or scales from the interior of the conduit pipe is collected upon the exterior of the conical strainer 15 where it is more easily dislodged and not so likely .to become compacted and solidified, as it would be interiorly of such strainer. In some localities, particularly in the southern states where the soil is sandy, protection must be afforded not only against entrance of grit and sand with the water supply stream butalso against the entrance of such grit from external sources. To this end, the top of the distributor head 7 is formed with a concentric hub or flange 17 surrounding the upper end of tne trunnion 5. the extremity of the trunnion 5 is a cap nut 18 having a dependent annular flange 19 which exteriorly surrounds and overlaps the hub or flange 17 upon the edge 7. The cap nut 18 and trunnion are stationary while the hub or flange 17 rotates freely Within the dependent flange 19 of the cap nut. This construction is such that air blown sand and dust is not likely to find lodgment in the hearing of the distributor head.

From the above description it will be apparent that there is thus provided a device of the character described possessing the particular features of advantage before enumerated as desirable, but which obviously is susceptible of modification in its forms, proportions, detail construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the principle involved or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Nhile in order to comply with. the statute the invention has been described in language more or less specific as to structural features, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific details shown, but that the means and construction herein disclosed comprise the preferred form of several modes of putting the invention into effect and the invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its N forms or modifications within the legitimate and valid scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. A rotary sprinkler including a supporting structure, a stationary hollow trunnion carried thereby and communicating with a source of supply of water under pressure, said trunnion having a lateral discharge orifice, a rotary distributor head revolubly mounted upon said trunnion and communieating with the discharge orifice of the trun- Screw threaded upon -far the rotary head, a circular hub formed on the top of the rotary head, and a cap member stationarily-secured to the trunnion.

. al dependent flange upon the cap member enclosing thehub of the rotary head which is relatively revoluble therein.

. 2.11m. a rotary sprinkler, a supporting structure, a rotary distributor head carried thereby; a pairof oppositely extending propulsion jet arms carried by the head in balancedfrelation, and additional jet nozzles carriedby the rotary head intermediate the first mentionedjetarms, on opposite sides of the head, and discharging in such relation with the direction of rotation that thereaction influence of. the discharged streams therefrom is in opposition to the propulsion influence offthe jet arms-whereby rotation of the head will be retarded, and means for supplying water to the rotary head.

. 3,,A; rotary sprinkler including a rotary distributor head, and two sets of reaction jet nozzles one set being distantly spaced from thehead and the other set being spaced intermediatethose of the first set and close to said head, the respective sets of jet nozzles being disposed in transverse radial planes, and balanced relative to each other, the reaction of the discharged streams from oneset of nozzlestending to rotate the head in one-direction while the reaction of the discharged streams from the other set of nozzles tend to rotate the head in the opposite direction, the reaction of the streams discharged from the respective sets of nozzles being unbalanced whereby the rate of rotation of the head .is retarded; and means for supplying water under pressure to said nozzles. 1

4. A rotary sprinkler including a rotary distributor head, and two sets of reaction jet nozzles arranged: in transverse radial planes relative to the axis of the head, the respective members ofeach set of nozzles being substantially balanced relative to each other, the reaction of the discharged streams from one set of nozzles tending to rotate the head in one direction while the reaction of the discharged streams from the other set of nozzles tend to rotate the head in the opposite di rection, one set of such nozzles being adjustable independently of the other set to vary the reactive relation of the streams discharged from the respective sets of nozzles whereby the speed of rotation of the head may be regulated, and means for supplying water under pressure to the rotary head.

5. A rotary sprinkler including a rotary distributor head, reaction jet arms carried by the head in relatively balanced relation and transmitting thereto a rotary motion, and jet nozzles adjustably mounted in relatively balanced relation intermediate said arms and adjustable to various stationary positions in- 'clined to thehorizontal, the jetarmsor nozzles being of 'materially different radialextent; and means'for supplying water iunder I pressure to the rotary head.

6. Ina rotary sprinkler,a rotary sprinkler head, a stationary trunnion upon which "said head is mounted and extending throughsaid head, an annular flange upon the head sur rounding the trunnion, and a cap member stationarily secured to the trunnion and including a dependent flange oVerlapping'the-flange upon said head "within which the enclosed portion of thehead isrelatively revoluble.

7, A rotary sprinkler, including a rotary 15 distributor head, reaction jjet arms-having nozzles carried thereby for transmitting rotary motion to the head, the reactions of the jet arms producing a torque having its axis concentric .with'the axis of-rotation, -and in 29 clined jet nozzles carried by said head, the

reactions of which produce a torque concentrio with said axis but unequally opposed t'o the torque of said jet arms, the inclination of which to the horizontal is variable so as to change the torque of the same, and means for supplying waterunder pressure to the rotary head.

8. A rotary sprinkler, including a rotary distributor head,reaction jet armshaving nozzles carried'by the head for transmitting rotary motion thereto, the reactions of said arms producing'a torque having its axis concentric with the axis of rotation, and jet noz M Zles adjustably mounted upon the head for various inclination to the plane of rotation I and discharging in a direction angular-to the radii,'the direction of the reaction of' said jet nozzles being in opposition to the-torque of said arms and concentric therewith, and means for supplying water undenpressu're to vthe head. I

In testimony whereof, I have" hereunto set my hand this 25th day of February, AID. 929.

- I JOHN KEYS. 

